Beck's First Birthday

Before the Fourth, we celebrated Beck's first. I had plans, you guys. There were gonna be balloons, a cute cake for Beck to smash and cupcakes for the rest of us, an adorable, blog-worthy surfer motif. Gummy sharks were involved. It was gonna be great!
But...well...it didn't quite work out the way I had planned. Cuz does it ever?

t-shirt | shorts

We had family in town, who had blessedly offered to watch the kids so the Hubs and I could scoot off for lunch, something we NEVER do. Never. In fact, I think the last child-free meal we had in Virginia Beach went down a few days before Beck was born. A year ago. I made the cake and cupcakes before we left, with the plan to make the frosting that night. Damon and I had an amazing lunch with a gorgeous view. I may have even had an adult beverage with my meal. It was perfect. On the way home, we stopped by the party store and picked up the balloons. We felt so relaxed and productive, so relaxed that I completely flaked on the frosting. Oops! I'd get it done first thing in the morning.

The morning of the celebration, the balloons were on the floor (Damon raced across town to get replacements-at no charge), the frosting wouldn't set enough to pipe it on the cupcakes, let alone frost a cake (humidity?), I dropped and broke a chunk off the cake plate (third sign of birthday apocalypse?), and I spent so much time monkeying around with the frosting that I never got a chance to set up and finish decorating before Damon had to start grilling the Hawaiian burgers for lunch. (They were sooo good, btw.) I held it together for a long time, but finally let the frustration tears flow when it was time to frost the smash cake (the frosting had been chilling in the fridge for hours hoping it would set). I figured the cupcakes didn't matter that much, we could dip them in the frosting if it came down to it, but the smash cake is all about the pictures. And the frosting was basically oozing off of it.

It was a disaster, for sure, but when it came down to it, it all tasted great, and Beck had a ball tearing that oozy cake apart!

When our company left later in the afternoon, I was straightening up the kitchen and noticed...I never even put out the gummy sharks! Doh!

With everything going on, we didn't even get a great family pic. This is as good as it gets. Haha!

But my favorite part of the first birthday...seeing how much Little Man has grown!

Happy birthday, Beck!

Beckett is Twelve Months Old!

That's right, friends! He's ONE! And mama's feeling all the feels, you guys, as I suppose one does when it's the last baby. Beck has grown so much in the last couple of months. And, although he shows little interest in actual toddling (beyond cruising the sofa), he's more a toddler than a baby these days. 

tee | shorts | shark

Twelve Month Stats

27lbs 15oz (95%) | 30.6 in (77%)

Major Milestones

blowing kisses and waving

I can say "buh" (bye) and "whoooa" (whoa), but "uh-oh" is my favorite word, for sure

feeding myself a bottle

Favorite Pastimes

putting toys in and out of baskets/boxes

swinging in the backyard

climbing on Zoey and yanking her hair
dance, dance, dance

I Love
Woofie, my little dog lovie

trying to do whatever Zoey is doing
chasing balls around the house
watching Sesame Street with my sister

Favorite Eats

smoothies, yogurt, sweet potatoes, black beans, grapes, strawberries, waffles

I Could Do Without
sleeping in my carseat, even when it's 30 minutes past nap time

I won't stand for my lunch or dinner being served late and will sit on mommy's feet and fuss until I get my food.

When Zoey turned one, I gave her a birthday waffle and smoothie breakfast, so we had to continue the tradition with Beck. Here's Zoey on her big day. Oh my gosh...those cheeks!

We'll be officially celebrating this weekend with some family (another post on that soon), but we had to celebrate a little bit on Beck's actual birthday...in keeping with tradition. Beck was a little uncertain about the whole situation, this pic captures something between a laugh (I'm tickling his leg to get him to smile) and a cry (cuz I won't let him grab the candle). Zoey and I sang "Happy Birthday" while he danced in his chair, she blew out the candle, and Beck slammed his smoothie before chowing down on his cinnamon waffle. Not a bad start to year number two.

pjs

Here's a few more pics from this last month...

Sophie the Giraffe | clutching balls

blocks

swing | cap | tee

This last shot shows Beck for exactly who he is. Super chill. So far in his little life, he's a pretty agreeable kiddo, unless he's tired or hungry, which is a major switch from his big sis. Her drama is unparalleled. 

We brought Beck home from the hospital on Father's Day last year, which made the day extra special. This year, remembering that day, it seemed like it was just a few months ago. It's always so surprising to me how quickly the time flies! 

Happy birthday, Little Man! 

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Happy Birthday Zoey!

A couple of weeks ago, our baby girl turned four. Three and a half was a...challenge. But I swear, she woke up on her birthday like a completely new kid! So grown up.

party pjs | teepee

It's like all of a sudden, she's got a huge (and easily understandable) vocabulary, imagination for days, and amazing comedic timing. And when she's not the sweetest little marshmallow...so much attitude! And a bit of a temper, too. Such a sensitive soul. Sometimes the smallest thing can throw her off and ignite ALL the emotions. But a snuggle and a kiss on the forehead can bring her right back to laughter.

This kid is always surprising us with the stuff she knows and can do.  Just the other day, she put together (after demolishing it, of course) Rapunzel's Lego swing almost entirely by herself by following the instruction guide, "Just like you showed me momma." Zoey is clearly a genius.

She wants to know more about everything, loves "reading" books and being read to, loves maps and puzzles and coloring and building things while wearing a tutu and ballet slippers. She is a ballerina princess after all!  She is crazy for animals and prefers stuffed animals to dolls most days. They are all over her bed, inside the teepee, the floor of her closet, playroom, and our bedroom at all times, and the kid inside of me is totally ok with that! 

Music and dance are a huge part of her life. She is totally her mother's daughter with this one! We listen to music almost all day, so there's a lot of dancing going on around here. She loves tutus and Misty Copeland and is already loving her pre-ballet class. But it's the fact that she knows the words to a song after just two listens that might make me the happiest. I cannot wait to take her to her first concert!!! 

Sprinkles are her life. Z insists (and has been like this for at least a year and a half) that sprinkles be included somehow at every meal and snack. On her yogurt, cereal, trail mix, even on her peanut butter and jelly. Zoey will remind us at every meal, like we would ever dare to forget! We're always well-stocked, and I even made a mason jar full of "Zoey's Birthday Sprinkle Mix" for her cake. It's one of my favorite things about her!  She's told me that her food is more yummy with sprinkles. Whatever works!

Zoey's little brother is probably her favorite thing in the house and I would be lost without her help. I'm always asking her how I got along without her when she was a baby. It isn't always easy for her when baby comes first, but her heart is so big. Last night, we had some horrible thunderstorms roll through in the middle of the night. Our thunder-phobic mama woke up, freaked out, and came scream-crying out of her room. When I scooped her up and brought her to our room, the first thing she said was, "Where's Beckett?" She was so worried about him in the storm. (He barely even moved during all that thunder. Boys!) 

tutu dress

Four Year Stats:

34 lbs (44%) | 3ft 4 in (54%)

Favorites:

(Zoey answered all of these on her own.)

Color: PURPLE!!! Mom. You know purple is my "fabe-rite".

Foods: I like grapes! And strawberries. And chocolate chips. And cereal. With sprinkles.

Treats: Ice cream! With sprinkles.

Toys: Legos! I need more Legos, mom.

Books: Piggie and Elephant. They're so funny! (She then launches into a super detailed retelling of her current favorite, I Really Like Slop.)

Songs: "Punzel's" song, in the boat with "Gene" when they see the lights. (I See the Light -Tangled)
In the car my "fabe-rite" is the Hands Clap song. (Fitz & the Tantrums)

Movies: Frozen and "Punzel." I can't pick, mom.

TV Shows: I like Sheriff Callie and Daniel Tiger. I like both of 'em. 

Animal: Zebras and "mingos" (flamingos).

Friend: Kiki! And Witt (a boy in her My Gym class.)

Place to Go: My Gym! Miss Morgan is sooo weird! (She means that as a huge compliment. We both think Miss Morgan is pretty much the best!)

Thing to do outside: Bubbles

Thing to do inside: Doin' a project. Or dancin'.

What do you want to be when you grow up? A ballerina...and a doctor for animals. I like to help animals.

Her day started with a donut tower, because...sprinkles!

The only thing Zoey wanted to do for her birthday was go to the playground, so, since the weather was perfect, we headed over there...along with everyone else in VB! She got a little daddy-time while there, cuz I was stuck in the car with a napping bambino.
There was an incident with the buttercream for her cake (two batches had to be dumped!), so I had to replenish my ingredients (third time's the charm) and she put her new purple tutu dress back on and we enjoyed her cake the next day. Probably a good thing, in retrospect, cuz donuts and cake probably would have sent us all into diabetic comas!

And some favorites from the last few months...

I still can't believe she's already four!

The Kid is Three!

So, about a month ago, the kid turned three. As usual, we kept it pretty simple...just the three of us. Z requested purple for her birthday, so purple balloons and a little purple cake were on the must-have list. I'd say she was pretty jazzed!

Three Year Old Stats: 

Height: 37 in    (50th percentile) 

Weight: 30.5 lbs    (50th percentile)

Z has always been well below 50th percentile in all of her measurements, so we're pretty excited to see her finally catching up. Having been through the whole business with her tethered cord (more on that here and here), it's always in the back of our minds that her growth may be affected. But just since the summer, she's grown 3 inches! 

Sizes: The kid is such a skinny-mini, she can wear pants as small as 18 months (if you want them to be capri), but most of her stuff is 2 & 3T, if only for the length. The kid has grown so much this year...all in the legs! 

Since the bug turned two last year, some big things have happened, starting with a move from SoFla to Virginia Beach. She's also lost the crib, played in the snow, potty trained and developed a very real and very irrational fear of public restrooms. But who can really blame her on that last one?

Favorites:

Color: Purple! Purple everything! (She actually calls it "Zoey's purr-pole!") In fact, I tried asking her all of these questions, and her answer to just about every one was "Purr-pole!!" 

Foods: grapes, strawberries, blueberries, pancakes, yogurt, beans & rice 

Food Topping: Sprinkles...on her cereal, pancakes, gorp (trail mix), yogurt, beans & rice...

Treats: froyo, Hershey's Kisses, apple slices with Nutella ("tella")

Toy: "My blocks (Duplos), ABC's (alphabet & number puzzles), and people (Little People)."

Books: Hard to pick just one... any Piggie & Elephant book by Mo Willems, Stuck by Oliver Jeffers, & Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett

Songs: You Are My Sunshine (she calls it the "sleepy song"), Cecilia & the Satellite by Andrew Mcmahon In the Wilderness 

Movie: "Frozen & the Doggies (101 Dalmatians)" 

TV Show: Sesame Street, Sheriff Callie ("Yehaw"), Ellen & Fixer Upper (she loves that Chip Gaines!)

Animal: Doggie

Friend: Kiki the meerkat...duh! 

Store: Target with chocolate milk

Thing to do outside: Play (ok, first she said "purr-pole!")

Thing to do inside: "Color, make lists, annndd boogie!"

One month in, and I can already tell you that three is a challenge (but isn't every age, really?). Z is sassy, stubborn, and determined...all qualities I'm happy to see (even though they are exhausting to deal with now) since they'll serve her well when she's older. She's also hilarious, empathetic, artistic, and incredibly smart. She sure keeps us on our toes!

25 Month Update

Our little ladybug has turned two. Yipes! Ok, ok, technically Z is 25 (and a half) months old. I had this post mostly written back at the end of January, to have it ready for posting by Zoey's big day back in mid-February. But with all the back-and-forths, the packing, schlepping, and unpacking...and then we all got sick, and laying on the sofa catching up with the Housewives just sounded so much better, soooo... I've updated a few things to reflect the extra month or so.

So here are the last of the monthly photos. We're thinking of doing photos every three months for Z's third year, but we're not sure how we'll be doing them. It's fun to see how she grows and changes each month.

 And our favorite outtakes from the last few months. Distracted by a good book, a good cry, and a good snack!

Stats: 25 lbs & 33 inches -- 25th percentile for each -- our little squirt!(as of Feb 16th)

Clothes: A mix of 18-24 month and 2T.  Size 5 shoes (although we think her latest growth spurt was only in her feet - they seem so big lately!). She's big into tutus and I've learned that they pretty much go with everything!

Favorite Foods: Zoey hasn't been the greatest eater lately. Typical, from what I hear. But when she does eat these days, its usually waffles, fruit of any kind (especially blueberries and raspberries), cinnamon Life cereal, black beans and rice, cucumber slices, yogurt, GoGo Squeeze applesauce pouches, and anything that can be dipped in pizza sauce, bbq sauce, peanut butter, hummus, or ranch dressing. Apparently apple slices are delicious when dipped in all of those things.
Smoothies are still a favorite, or were until our blender kicked the bucket, and the chocolate and vanilla milk boxes from Starbucks are probably her favorite "treat" lately. She'd drink them all day every day if I let her. And they've become essential at keeping the kid relaxed (read:tantrum-free) during our Target trips. Starbucks for the win!
These days, she also prefers eating out of measuring cups and mini cake pans, often while standing at the kitchen counter on the step-stool. Hey. Whatever gets the food in the belly.

Words: Zoey hasn't started legit talking yet. She's super chatty, and can usually get her point across with other cues, but her bank of words is still pretty small. There are lots of phone "conversations" on her play phone and long speeches to us that include hand gestures and animated facial expressions. well-timed giggles, and polite pauses. She's definitely got the rhythm of language, it's just that she's speaking Minion and not English. We do lots of singing and reading, so I feel like it's any time now. 

The words we hear the most are: choo-choo --"doo-doo" (which she uses for trains, planes, and helicopters, all of which we used to hear a lot of every day back in SoFlo), yuck!, Scout - "cow", Olaf --"oh-ah", more -- "mmooooaaahhhh", got it! -- "gah id", where are you? -- "ahr oo?".

**Update** A couple of days ago, Zoey finally called me "mommy"!!! For the longest time, she called me nothing, then she threw in a "daddy" here and there. For a few days recently, she called me "Mo" (which I actually loved - so cute!), but she busted out a perfectly executed "mommy", and then repeated it about 50 times. It. was. awesome.  

Favorite Activities: At our old house, Z lived for squirrel watching in the yard. She also loved playing peek-a-boo around the porch posts and watching bubbles float on the surface of the pool. We can't do that stuff at our new house, but the old favorites that she still does are playing in the rock box, exploring the yard, puzzles, coloring & painting, sidewalk chalking, dancing, reading, and playing in the bath/water table/puddles/sink. Helping with meal prep is a newer favorite, but mostly she prefers to raid the cabinets and mix her own invisible concoctions with a spatula and whisk.

Least Favorite Activities: eating dinner, sleeping through the night in her own bed (the last few months have been a nightmare when it comes to sleep) and diaper changes.

Favorite Things: Zoey is crazy for stuffed animals and hasn't really gotten into baby dolls. She has her crew of favorites, but the number one animal in her menagerie is Kiki the meerkat. She goes everywhere with Zoey, which usually requires a lot of explaining.  (My dad is a docent at the Brevard Zoo, where they have meerkats, and although Z has never seen them, she fell in love with Kiki when Grandpa gave it to her.) "What a cute...raccoon?" "Your daughter's mouse? is so well loved." Nope. It's a meerkat, although we're pretty sure she thinks Kiki is a squirrel.

Signature Moves: Saying a very sweet "bye-bye" before closing the door in your face. It's actually hilarious! Zoey also has the most amazing fake laugh and uses it with perfect comedic timing. And let's not forget her epic dance moves! She's also got singing along to the Frozen soundtrack (along with some other favorites from the radio) down pat. 

Momma of the Year Moment: While standing six inches away, Z took a literal header off of her step-stool and face-planted on the the kitchen floor. The sound of her sweet head nailing the tile still haunts me. The kid is tough, though. After we both stopped crying and calmed down, she got right back up on the stool and continued playing with the measuring cups.

Milestones: The first of the two year molars has come in and we've lost the highchair. (Both happened a few months ago.) She also got her first haircut when we were home for the wedding (more on that later). Oh, and she moved away from her first home...kind of a big deal...for all of us. (I may have stood in her empty room at the old house and sobbed like a baby. I was a mess.)

As any momma of a two year old will tell you, having said two year old is the best...and the worst. We experience a lot of, what we call, communication frustration, which almost always leads to a tantrum. Understandably. But two is also clever and creative and hilarious and sweet. And irrational. And exhausting. But the goods are sooo good, you almost forget about the screaming fit in the middle of the grocery store because she wanted all the balloons. Almost.